Slide for hookless fasteners



March 25, 1952 s. 1. LACKRITZ SLIDE FOR HOOKLESS FASTENERS Filed May 10,1946 INVEN TOR. BY J 5 RTTORQIEXS Patented Mar. 25, 1952 SLIDE FORHOOKLESS FASTENERS Samuel J. Lackritz, New York, N. Y., assignor t KeeZipper Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication May 10, 1946, Serial No. 668,678 13 Claims. (Cl. 24-20515)My invention relates to a new and improved slide for hookless fastenersof the well-known zipper type or of any other type. Such fasteners areapplied to undergarments, such as corsets and girdles, outer garmentssuch as dresses and trousers, and to other articles which are made offabric.

Such garments and articles frequently have an opening which is closed atone end thereof. The bases of the tongues or fastener elements areconnected to the respective longitudinal edges of said opening, inrespective longitudinal rows. While the invention applies to any type ofopening, it is of particular utility in association with an openingwhich is closed at one end thereof.

The slide frequently catches upon the fabric of the article or thetongues of the hookless fastener frequently jam within the slide. Insuch case, it is impossible to operate the slide in the longitudinalunlocking direction, and it is sometimes impossible to move the slide inthe locking direction.

According to my invention, the slide may be generally of any suitableshape or type, since such slides are well-known per se.

An important feature of my invention is to provide the slide with twolongitudinal walls, disposed transversely relative to each other, saidlongitudinal walls being movable transversely relative to each other.These walls have separated transverse flanges, which define thelongitudinal channel of the slide. By means of a relative transversemovement away from each other, I can easily release the flanges of theslide from the stringers or from the cloth of the garment or otherarticle. I can thus also transversely move the flanges of the slide awayfrom the bases of the tongues on the stringers, so that the flanges ofthe slide wholly clear the tongues or the stringers, or sufiicientlytransversely clear the bases of the tongues which are clamped to thestringers, so that the slide can be freely slid in some cases in theunlocking direction to the closed end of the opening in the garment orother article. The slide can also then be slid in the locking directionwithout interlocking the tongues or other elements of the hookless fas-,

tener. I can thus easily separate the slide from the engaged part of thecloth of the garment or other article, or from a jammed part of thetongues or other elements of the hookless fasteners.

When the undesirable condition has been corrected, the flanges of theslide can be again moved into operative position, because the slide isnot permanently distorted by releasing it from the tongues or stringers.

I prefer to use a one-piece slide, which has longitudinal walls whichare integral with a resilient transverse web or yoke. Said resilienttransverse web biases the longitudinal flanges of the longitudinal wallstransversely away from each other into respective non-operativepositions. I also provide a locking post for holding said flanges inrespectiveoperatlve positions. It has been proposed, as in Sico U. S.Patent No. 2,227,766 dated January 7, 1941, to provide a slide withlongitudinal walls which are biased away from each other by a resilientconnecting yoke. In the Sico construction, a fixed post is rigidlysecured to one longitudinal wall of the slide and said post extendsthrough a hole in the opposed longitudinal wall, which has a lockingfingerpiece turnably connected thereto. Such prior device has beenexpensive and difficult to manufacture.

According to my invention, I provide a single transverse post which isturnable relative to both said walls around the axis of said post. Saidpost is also movable relative to both said walls, in the direction ofthe axis of said post, when said post releases said walls. Said postalso has holding means for releasably holding said walls in respectiveoperative positions. I thus provide a very simple device which can beeasily manufactured and assembled at low cost, and which can be veryeasily operated.

Other objects and advantages of my invention are stated in the annexeddescription and drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment. Inthis embodiment, I illustrate one type of hookless fastener which asinterlocking tongues, but the invention applies to any type.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view, the parts of the slide being in operativeposition. The slide is moved upwardly in locking direction to connectthe hookless fastener elements of the stringers to each other, anddownwardly in unlocking direction to disconnect said hookless fastenerelements. If the opening has a closed end, such end is at the bottom ofthe opening. Such closed end is not shown, as this is well known.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the improved slide.

Fig. 3 is an inner side elevation or longitudinal elevation of one ofthe stringers and its attached tongues or hookless fastener elements,showing the flanges of the slide in respective operative positions. Inthis view, the flanges are spaced longitudinally from the tongues.

tudinal stringers I and 2 are fixed to the free longitudinal edges ofthe fabric pieces 3 and G, in

the usual manner. The laterally disposed tongues or elements 5 of thehookless fastener are of the usual type. The bases or lateral inner endsof tongues 5 are fixed to the stringers I and 2.

The slide S is of any suitable shape.

Said slide S has opposed longitudinal walls G and I, which arepreferably rigid, although.

they may be bendable and resilient. These opposed walls 6 and I areintegral with a resilient and bendable transverse yoke or web 8.

The longitudinal wall 6 is integral with a pair of transverse flanges 9,and the longitudinal wall I is integral with a pair of transverseflanges Ii). Each flange 9 is separated from its respective adjacentflange Ill. The flanges 9 are identical with each other, and the flangesID are identical with each other. 'All of the flanges 9, I9 may beidentical.

When the lockingpin or post P is in its looking position of Fig. 2, theflanges 9 and III are in operative position. As shown in Fig. 4, whenthe locking post P is in unlocking position, the flanges 9 and I9 aretransversely spaced from each other, and said flanges 9 and III are innonoperative position.

These flanges 9 and II} form a longitudinal channel of double taper,which is of minimum width at about its median lateral plane. flanges 9and III slidingly abut the stringers or the bases of the tongues 5 atsaid median part of said channel, when said flanges 9 and II are intheir respective operative positions.

The resilient transverse yoke or web 8 biases the longitudinal walls 5and 1 and the flanges 9, III to their respective non-operative positionsshown in Fig. 4, in which the median or bearing parts of said flanges 9,III transversely clear the bases of the tongues 5. When the flanges 9,I9 are in {such respective non-operative positions, the slide S can befreely slid longitudinally in the bottom or unlocking direction, withoutcontact between the bearing parts of said flanges 9 and Ill and thebases of the tongues 5 of the stringers. As shown in Fig. 2, atransverse pin P is located between the web 8 and the free ends of thewalls 6 and I. This pin P has a cylindrical shank II which normallytilts the interlocked tongues 5 away from each other, when slide S isslid in the longitudinal disengaging direction. Said shank II, whichthen operates as a release member, is located longitudinally between web8 and the opposed end of the slide. Optionally, and as shown in Fig. 4,the flanges 9, I9 do not wholly transversely clear the bases of thetongues 5 of the stringers when said flanges 9, III are in theirrespective non-operative positions, thus preventing the lateral shiftingofthe slide S off said tongues 5. In suchcase, the slide S cannot beturned freely around the longitudinal axis of shank I I or web 8, evenif the flanges 9, ID are in respective non-operative positions, althougha limited turning movement is possible. It is Sufficient if themedianbea me o iqnsni the flanges 9, I are located respectively above The- 4and below the bases of the tongues 5, in the positions shown in Fig. 4.Between said bearing portionsof said flanges 9, III, and the free endsof said flanges 9 and III, they may partially embrace the bases of thetongues or the stringers I and 2. Optionally the web 8 may be ofsufiicient length and the walls 6 and 1 may be sufficiently movable awayfrom each other, so that the flanges 9, III will wholly transverselyclear and release the tongues 5 and the stringers, when said flanges 9and III are in their respective nonoperative positions. Likewise, whensaid flanges 9, I6 are in their respective non-operative positions, theslide S can be freely moved in the locking direction, which is upward inFig. 1, without interlocking the tongues 5. The slide S can thus be slidin the locking direction wholly off the tongues 5, either wholly off thegarment, or to a portion of the stringers I and 2 which is free from thetongues 5, or to a non-jammed portion of the tongues 5.

Hence, if the slide S has caught upon the fabric, it can be releasedfrom the fabric and slid in either direction away from the engaged Ipart of the fabric.

tongues, so that it is easy to separate the jammed tongues, because theflanges 9 and I0 then release the jammed tongues. Since the slide S canthus be slid wholly off the tongues 5, the garment can be quicklyopened. If desired, the

' released slide S can be slid wholly off the tops of the stringers Iand 2, without interlocking the tongues 5 above the jammed tongues 5. Ifthe flanges 9 and II] are sufliciently separated by the resilience ofthe web 8, the released slide S can be turned around the axis of web 8so that the flanges 9, II] are located wholly off the tongues 5. Thereleased slide S can then be turned through any angle around thelongitudinal axis of web 8.

In this embodiment, the pin P also functions as a control pin forreleasably maintaining the flanges 9 and III in operative positions, inwhich they interengage the tongues 5 when slide S is moved in thelooking or engaging direction. In this embodiment, the pin P also servesas a finger hold for slide S. In addition to its cylindrical shank II,said pin P also has a non-cylindrical shank I4. As shown in Figs. 3 and14, the shank II is located substantially at the ends of the flanges 9and III which are proximate to the yoke B, and between yoke 8 and saidproximate ends of flanges 9 and III. In this embodiment, thenon-cylindrical shank I4 has a rectangular crosssection. Thelongitudinal wall 6 has a noncylindrical bore I5. The longitudinal wallI has a cylindrical bore, in which the cylindrical shank II fitsturnably. For convenience, the bore of wall I is designated as the firstbore, and the non-circular bore of wall 6 is designated as the secondbore. Said cylindrical shank II has an enlarged head I2 which isexternal to wall I. The control pin P is provided with a finger-holdring I6.

When the pin P is in the locking positionof Figs. 1, 2, 3, the shouldersof the non-cylindrical shank I4 externally abut the wall 6, thus holdingthe walls 6 and I and their flanges 9, H1 in their respective operativepositions.

When the control pin P is turned 90 around its longitudinal axis fromthe position of Figs. 1, 2, 3 to the unlocking position of Fig. 4, thenoncylindrical shank I4 can enter the alined bore [5 of wall 6, so thatthe walls 6 and 1 spring apart under the spring bias of the yoke or web8. The non-cylindrical shank It then optionally fits closely in the bore15.

When it is desired again to use the released slide, the walls 6 and lare forced transversely towards each other,'until the pin P can beturned to the position of Fig. 2.

It is thus possible initially to apply the slide S to the stringers Iand 2, while the longitudinal walls 6 and 1 and the flanges 9, ID are intheir respective non-operative positions, and while the tongues 5 areunlocked from each other. The walls 6 and 1 of the applied slide canthen be moved transversely towards each other to their respectiveoperative positions, and the pin P can be turned to its locking positionof Fig. 2. A slight relative transverse movement of the walls 6 and l issuflicient to apply the slide operatively or to release the slide. Thering l6 also provides the usual finger-hold for operating the slide.

I thus provide an improved slide which can be made at low cost.

The invention is not limited to the one-piece construction of the slide,or to the use of a resilient web as spring means for biasing thechannel-flanges away from each other, or to the use of any biasingspring means.

It is of course well known to attach the tongues 5 to the stringers orto thickened parts of the fabric pieces 3 and 4, so that the tongues 5are invisible when the opening is closed. In such case, and in manyknown types of hookless fasteners, the flanges 9 and In, or either theflanges 9 or ID, embrace and slide upon the stringers or the thickenedportions of the fabric pieces. Since the invention relates to the slide,it applies to any type of hookless fastener. Likewise, the junctionbetween web 8 and either of the walls 6 and 1 may be rigid, so'that onlyone of the Walls 6 and I may be transversely movable relative to web 8.Hence, when I state that the channel-means are relatively movabletransversely towards and away from each other, I include any type ofrelative transverse movement.

As shown in Fig. 4, when the post P is in nonholding position, said postis movable in the direction of its axis, relative to both longitudinalwalls 6 and 1. The outer end of the post which is adjacent theshank-part M has an enlargement, which prevents the slide from beingmoved upwardly off the post. The bottom enlargement I2 prevents theslide from being moved downwardly off the post. The slide S and post Pthus provide an efficient assembly, which can be made and shipped as aunit, independently of the associated hookless fastener elements.

A number ofadvantages accrue by reason of the structure thus described,some of which have been heretofore indicated; others will now bereferred to: H

One of these is the contour at the sides of the planar walls 6 and I andwhich presents the bending line for flanges 9 and ID, the bend lineextending arcuately to thereby present the throat'of the slider asflared outwardly at both 'as in Fig. 3.

6, ends with the constricted portion in a mid-zone of'the length of thewalls. Under normal operating conditions, only the flared open end whichcarries post P and the'constricted portion of the throat is actuallyneeded for service in the slider movements, the opposite flared endbeing inactive under such conditions. The latter flared end may be ofservice in the event that stringerborne elements below the slider (inFig. 1) may be imperfectly interlocked and thus increasethe width of theelement zone at such point, a condition which could tend to prevent theconstricted portion from passing freely over the zone when the slide isbeing moved downward (in Fig. 1) over such zone. The normally inactiveflared end will then tend to move the elements to move to theinterlocked position and permit free movement of the slide in suchdirection.

However, the important advantage in this connection is the support whichthe arcuate curvature gives to the flanges 9 and 10. These flanges inthe constricted throat zone are subjected to outward pressure due to theresistance present when moving the elements to their interlockedpositions, and since the flanges are supported only along one edge, suchpressure could tend to bend the flares outwardly during movement of theslide in an upward direction in Fig. 1.

In the illustrated construction, the arcuate form of the bending lineserves to restrict the constricted zone to a very short length. Thus,the arcuate curvature, which extends in both directions from such point,is active to support the flanges against bending outward, such supportbeing due to the difficulty in moving the flanges outwardly where thebending line is curved. Consequently, while the lower flared zone(Fig. 1) may be inactive to move the elements into their interlockingpositions, such flared zone is actually active in aiding in supportingthe flanges against outward bending during the movements of the slider,due to the curvature which provides the flare.

Another advantage is presented through the form of post P and itsactivities. The post is a unitary structure and performs the service ofa number of separate parts usually found in structures of this type. Forinstance, the shank ll of the post spans the distance between the upperand lower planar walls 6 and 1 and this portion of the shank thuscrosses the zone within which the stringer elements 5 have theirmovements, and since the shank is positioned in advance of the biasingelement 8 during movement of the slider in the direction to open theelements, the shank itself provides this element-opening service. Inusual commercial practice, this is provided by a special anchoredopening structure. In the present invention, in which the post is alwaysrotatable about its axis relative to both walls, the shank ll of thepost, which is circular in contour, is effective as an element opener inany angular position rotatively of the shank, since the circular contourof the shank presents the same arcuate conditions in all angularpositions of the shank.

However, the freedom of rotation of the post P is limited to periodswhen the upper and lower walls 6 and 1 are parallel, at which time thehead I 4 is completely above the upper wall 6, Whenever head l4 extendsinto slot 15, the non-circular contour of the head and slotpreventrotation of the post and thus of the shank, a condition which does notaffect the element opening a'ctivityof the shank, but permits the upperwall .6 to move t its inclined position through activity of biasingmember 8, so that its flanges 9 are made inactive to return the elementsto their closed or interlocking positions. In other words, the shank Hcan open the elements by slider movement at all times, but closing ofthe elemen s is limited to periods when flan es 9 are in the position ofFig, 3.

In the form of the invention shown in the drawings, the spacing of thetwo heads 12 and I4 is such that the leng h of the connectin circul rconnection, shank or stem .H s equa to th distance between the outer facof planar walls 6 and 1 when in parallelism- This causes the. innerfaces of such heads to serve as means for retainin uch walls in theirpara lel p siti s, while the intermediate stem or shank .l 1 extendsacross the planes of the stringer-borne elements and thus s rves as them a s. for opening th elements by downward movement of the slider inFig. 1.

When it is desired to render walls 6 and 'l inactive relative to thestringer-borne elements, the post is given a quarter-turn rotation, thusalining head is with its opening 15, permitting the head is to pass intothe opening, the latter action resulting from the biasing action ofconnection 8. It is understood that since such position of head 14relieves the restraint which its inner face provides against spreadingof walls 6 and I, the action of connection 8 is provided on both of suchwalls, the post P moving downward under the action of the connection ,8and applying downward pressure on the lower head l2, head I4 moving intoopening l while the upper planar wall 6 moves upward.

The extent of this spreading movement of the two planar walls 6 and I isdetermined by the extent of the play between the ends of opening l5 and.the smaller end surfaces of head I4, so far as the wall 6 is concerned,and the playpetween the surface of shank II and the diameter of theopening in wall 1 through which the shank passes. As will be understood,any movement of either wall from the parallel condition acts to changethe relation between the planar wall openings and head I4. and shank H,since the inclination of the planar wall also inclines the opening wallsrelative to the axis of the post; when the I inclination of the openingwalls is sufficient to bring corners of these opening walls intoengagement with the post surface, such corners present characteristicsof a biting effect on the post, thus stopping the further spreadingaction. This may take place prior to the assemblage reaching theposition shown in Fig. 4, in which case (should it be desired to movethe walls to the position of that figure) a slight pinching action onwalls 6 and 1 relieves the biting effect and permits the post to bemoved bodily downward to the position shown whereupon release of thepinching action restores the biting effect, with planar wall I spacedfrom head 12, the angularity of the two walls being the same before andafter the post is moved downward. Hence, the degree of angularity of thetwo planar walls 6 and I is determined by the value of the playindicated.

Assuming the parts to have been moved to the position of Fig. 4, and itis desired to return the pa ts to the position of Fig. 3, the operatorapplies a finger to the upper face of wall 6 and applies downwardpressure thereon, thus releasing the biting effect of this wall, and thepost is then-drawn upward; the initial drawing action will tend to drawthe lower planar wall 1 upward through the biting effect present with tat wall, but since such upward movement of the wall also tends to reducethe angularity of the wall, it serves to release the biting effect andpermits the post to be drawn through both walls until head l2 contactsthe lower wall, whereupon said head I2 moves the lower wall upwardly bypositive action; when head I4 is completely withdrawn from opening IS te post is turned the quarter turn, and pressure on the upper wall 6 isreleased, the two walls then being in the vicinity of the positions ofFig. 3. Since the bitin effect is completely absent when the walls arein this relation, connection .8 will eliminate any variation from theposition of Fig. 3.

Through the construction shown and operated in this manner, it isevident that the construc: tion is greatly simplified, since the entireaction is provided by the use of the post P and the cooperating openingscarried by planar walls .6 and I. The manual downward pressure and thepossible pinching action (both applied on the planar walls) are easilyprovided, and avoid the necessity of adding additional structures, theaddition of which largely increases the cost as well as producing acomplicated assemblage. Since the change from the conditions of Fig. 3to those of Fig. 4 and return, form no part of the normal operation ofthe slider and come into activity-under emergency conditions, thepresence of the manual manipulations to meet the conditions of theemergency are not objectionable and are of such simple type as torequire no expert operator to perform them.

I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, but numerouschanges and omissions and additions can be made without departing fromits scope.

I claim:

1. A hookless fastening assembly, wherein a succession of stringer-borneelements are moved into and out of engaged positions by the movement ofa slider in the direction of length of the stringers, said slider havingan open end; wherein the slider is formed with means for moving saidstringer-borne elements into engaged positions by slider advance in onedirection, said slider carrying a release member, for releasing saidstringer-borne elements from the engaged positions by slider advance inthe opposite direction, and wherein the slider is formed to permit suchslider means to be rendered active and inactive with the stringer-borneelements at will, an assembly of such type characterized by said sliderbeing of sheet metal and having opposing planar walls connected at oneconnection end which is opposed to said open end by a biasing resilientwall connectionsaid walls being flanged toward each other to produce aslider element moving means, said resilient wall connection permittingrelative movement of the opposing walls to render the means active orinactive relative to the. stringer-borne elements at will, said releasemember being turnably connected to said bottom wall and extendingthrough an opening of said top wall and being movable pivotally aboutits'axis relative to both walls, said release member having controlmeans which are operative in one position of said release member tomaintain the walls substantially parallel to thereby render the slidermeans active with the sliderborne elements and said control means beingoperative in another position of said releasable member to permit saidwalls to move relatively by resilient connection activity to positionsinclined relative to each other to thereby render the slider meansinactive with such elements, the configuration of said control meansbeing such as to constitute said release member a controlling agency forthe walls and also to cooperate with the stringer-borne elements'inmovin the latter from their closed positions to their open positions byslider movement in one direction.

2. An assembly as in claim 1 characterized in that the release member isformed with a pair of heads positioned in spaced relation in thedirection of length of the member, the spacing distance being such thatthe inner faces of both heads are active in maintaining the parallelrelation of the planar walls, at least one of said heads beingpositioned on a portion of the member projecting beyond the planar wallwith which it cooperates in producing the planar Wall parallelism, saidhead having a non-circular contour cooperative with a complementalnon-circular opening carried by the planar wall which cooperates withthe head, said head and opening when in non-registering relationmaintaining both planar Walls in parallelism, the head being movablepivotally on the member axis to establish registration between head andopening to free the planar wall from head restraint and cause movementof such wall in the direction of axial length of the head by resilientconnection activity to thereby position said wall in its relativelyinclined position.

3. An assembly as in claim 2 characterized in that the release memberlength intermediate the inner faces of the pair of heads is of circularcontour in cross-section, and further characterized in that thenon-circular contour configuration of said selected head and its openingis rectangular in shape with the narrower dimension approximatelyequalling the length of a diameter of such circular portion to therebypermit movement of the planar wall adjacent such head to freely movebetween its parallel and inclined positions. 5

4. An assembly as in claim 1 characterized in that the release memberhas a length such as to extend through and beyond openings formed inboth planar walls, said member having a pair of heads in spaced relationin the direction of length of the member, the spacing distance beingsuch that the inner faces of both heads are active in maintaining theplanar walls in parallel relation, one of said heads being positioned atone of the projected ends of the member, and being additionally activeto move the planar wall with which it cooperates from its inclined toits parallel position relative to the opposite planar wall.

5. An assembly as in claim 4 characterized in that the second head ispositioned at an intermediate point in the length of the member and isof non-circular contour in cross-section and of material length, themember end zone beyond such second head being projected beyond theadjacent planar wall, such adjacent planar Wall having an openingcomplemental in contour to that of such cross-sectional contour of thesecond head, said member having means for rotatively moving the memberbetween a position wherein the contours of head and opening arenon-alined and a position where they are in alinement to thereby permitthe head to enter the opening when in such alined position under axialmovement of the member and the biasing action or the resilientconnection of the planar walls 10 with the adjacent planar wall movinglongitudinally of the head in the alined positions of its opening andsuch head.

6. An assembly as in claim 5 characterized in that the projected memberend zone beyond the .vide rotative movements to the member and to movethe opposite planar wall from its inclined to its parallel position byaxial movement of the member.

'7. An assembly as in claim 1 characterized in that the release memberis movable pivotallyand axially and is formed with a zone ofnon-circular contour cooperative With an opening of complemental contourcarried by one of the planar walls, said zone being movable into and outof such alined relationship by pivotal movements of the member, saidzone when out of alinement with its opening being operative to maintainthe opposing walls in substantial parallelism and when in alinement withits opening permitting the zone to enterthe opening, the zone being ofmaterial length and movable lengthwise of the zone by axial movement ofthe member and the biasing resilient connection, the latter beingcooperative with the member movement when the planar walls are movingfrom parallel to inclined positions and in opposition to the membermovement when the walls are moved in the opposite direction.

8. An assembly as in claim 7 characterized in that the zone ispositioned at an intermediate portionof the length of the releasemember, one end of the member having an enlarged head permanentlyexternal of the planar walls, the opposing inner faces of the zone andhead being spaced apa and connected by a zone of uniform crosssectionand of circular contour; the length of such zone of circular contourbeing equal to the distance between the outer faces of the pair ofplanar walls when the walls are positioned in parallel relation, suchcircular zone constituting a formation cooperative with thestringer-borne elements to open the latter when the slider is advancedin one direction, said member head constituting a formation active tocontrol the position of one of the planar walls when said walls are inparallel relation and to move said wall to such position by member axialmovement when the planar walls have been shifted to the relativelyinclined positions.

9. An assembly as in claim 8 characterized in that the release memberincludes a projected portion beyond the non-circular zone with suchprojected portion carrying a slider actuator pivotally mounted to swingon an axis extending on a diameter of such portion to permit sliderbodily advance in either direction during active service, said actuatorbeing operative to move the member pivotally to prepare the slider forits inactive service conditions through movement of the planar walls toinclined positions relative to each other, the actuator and its supportbeing formed to serve as a formation to move the member in the directionof its axis in shifting one of the planar walls from its inclined to itsactive parallel position.

10. A slide for a hookless fastener device which has two longitudinalrows of hookless fastener elements, said slide having longitudinal wallsaeoarocwhich are connected by a transverse resilient web at the rear endof said slide, said walls having transverse flanges which aredirectedtransversely towards each other from said longitudinal walls,said flanges being inclined laterally relative to each other from theirrear ends to provide a tapered throat to interengage such longitudinalrows of hookless fastener elements when said slide is movedlongitudinally rearwardly relative to such hookless fastener elements, atransverse pin which has a shank which extends through one of saidlongitudinal walls, said pin being located forwardly of said webandrearwardly of said flanges, said shank being shaped to tilt anddisengage such hookless fastener elements from each other when saidslide is moved longitudinally forwardly relative to such hooklessfastener elements, said pin being turnable around its axis relative toboth said longitudinal walls, means preventing the separation of saidpin from said walls, said shank having a laterally enlarged locking headadjacent the other respective longitudinal wall, said respectivelongitudinal wall having a longitudinal slot, said head being shaped toenter said slot when said head is longitudinally located, said resilientweb biasing said walls transversely away from each other to separatednon-operating positions when said head enters said slot, said flangesbeing then suificiently separated to prevent said interengagement ofsaid hookless fastener elements when said slide is thus movedlongitudinally rearwardly, said walls being movable transversely towardseach other to relative positions in which said locking head is whollyexternal to the respective adjacent longitudinal wall, said pin beingturnable to a position in which said locking head overlies said slot andholds said walls in operating positions, said flanges being located tointerengage said hookless fastener elements when said slide is movedrearwardly and said walls are held in said operating positions.

11. A slide for longitudinally disposed hgflzless fasteners, said slidehaving longitudinal top and bottom walls, said walls having front andrear ends, said rear ends being integral with a resilient reartransverse yoke which biases said walls transversely away from eachother to selected separated positions, said walls having flange meanswhich are operative and located to slidably engage and interlock thehookless fasteners when said slide is moved longitudinally rearwardlyrelative to said hookless fasteners, holding means turnably connected tothe bottom wall of said slide and extending through an opening of saidtop wall and being turnable about its axis relative to both walls, saidholding means being operative in a first turned position to mainmm saidlongitudinal walls in selected proximate positions towhich they havebeen forced from said selected separated positions and in a secondturned position to release said walls to permit them to move-to saidselected separated positions, said walls being closer to each other insaid selected proximate positions than in said selected separatedpositions, said holding means being located and operative to separatesaid hookless fasteners when said slide is moved longitudinallyforwardly.

12. A slide in accordance with claim 11, said holding means having anenlarged head which abuts the upper face of said top wall when saidholding means is inv said first, turned position and which is positionedwithin said top wall hole when said holding means is in said secondturned position.

13. A slide for longitudinally disposed hookless fasteners, said slidehaving longitudinal top and bottom walls, said walls having front andrear ends, said rear ends being integral with a resilient. reartransverse yoke which biases said walls transversely away from eachother to selected separated positions, said walls having flange meanswhich are operative and located to slidablyengage and interlock thehookless fasteners when said slide is moved longitudinally rearwardlyrelative to said hookless fasteners, a transverse pin turnably connectedto the bottom wall of said slide and extending through an opening ofsaid top wall and being turnable about its axis relative to both walls,said pin having an enlarged head, said head abutting the upper face ofsaid top wall in a first turned position of said pin to force saidlongitudinal walls toward each other from said selected separatedpositions to selected proximate positions, said head being positionedwithin said top wall hole in a second turned position of said pin torelease said walls to permit them to move to said selected separatedpositions, said walls being closer to each other in said selectedproximate positions than in said selected separated positions, said pinbeing located and operative to separate said hookless fasteners whensaid slide is moved longitudinally forwardly.

SAMUEL J. LACKRITZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 948,287 Trulove Feb. 1, 19102,227,766 8100 et al Jan. '7, 1941 2,366,797 Legat Jan. 9, 1945

